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Varalakshmi Vrata

Kalasam, an auspicious symbol

Kalasam, Water, Mango Leaves, coconut

An image of a Kalasam with a coconut and mango leaves on its mouth is always used as a sign of auspiciousness. It signifies prosperity and the joys it brings with it. The water held in it is a sign of overflowing bounty.

Brim and Overflow

How does a Kalasam hold beyond its brim and over flow to denote this overflowing bounty?

If you fill water in a pitcher, Kalasam, we can only fill it to the brim. Beyond its brim water will flow out of the pitcher and the Kalasam will always be only brimfull at the most.

Can we make a kalasam hold water beyond its brim?

Coconut on Kalasam filled with water

When you put a coconut on top of a Kalasam filled with water, the water inside the coconut, gives rise to a setting, where there is water over and above the brim in the Kalasam. Below the coconut, you have the mango leaves dipped in the water. The water dripping from these mango leaves continuously through its capillary action, indicate an overflow, an overflowing prosperity for all.

Symbolizing Prosperity

The Kalasam filled with water, with mango leaves and a coconut on its mouth, thus symbolizes prosperity and the overflowing bountiful Nature.

In some traditions, they keep rice instead of water, in the Kalasam.

The coconut kept on top is referred to as Poorna Falam. A wholesome fruit.

Coconut = Ego

The coconut also represents the human body and ego. Only when the ego is broken, the pureness in us, which is innate to us, comes out to the open. This goodness is a resplendent, pure, sweet succor to life and is symbolized by the white and sweet kernel inside the coconut. Breaking the coconut is akin to symbolically breaking the “ahankaram”, ego, the total surrender and merging with the Divine.

Such a full Kalash, Kalasam forms a prominent part of the Varalakshmi Vratam festival.

Varalakshmi Vratam & various connects

Varalakshmi Vratam is a festival that brings out the connect between a kalsam and overflowing prosperity, connect between prosperity and water, connect between water and women and the connect between women and abundance to make a full circle.

Venerating a Kalasam of Varalakshmi Vratam

Celebrated by Women

It is celebrated by the women of India in the month of Shravana on second Friday. It falls in August – September every year, the peak of the monsoon season, when the lands are green and filled with water from the copious rains.

Women Pray for their Family

The key aspect of the rituals in this festival is that, the women take a Kalasam, pitcher of water, wrap it with strings, place mango leaves on its mouth, a coconut in the centre amidst those leaves and pray to the divine forces with all humility, for safeguarding their family, their village, their community and the land as a whole.

The innate beauty

This ritualistic festival has multiple layers of meanings. The women are known to always pray for their family, their loved ones, their community, their village and their land. They hardly pray for themselves. This shows the beauty of the innate selfless nature of the women of this land.

Bond of Women & Water

When the women pray to the Kalasam filled with water and wrap it with strings, among the other ritual meanings, one sublime expression is the bond of the women with water. The women by tying this string express their binding with water. It is a bonding borne out by the fact that most of the rivers of this land are named after women, save for a few such as Brahmaputra.

Women as Lakshmi

Water being the root, route for prosperity, the binding between women and water also denotes the binding of women with prosperity of the family, household, land and society. It shows women in the light of Lakshmi, the Divinity for wealth, prosperity and happiness.

Varalakshmi Vratham – Nature of Motherhood

This Varalakshmi Vratam festival denotes the nature of motherhood, the selflessness of motherhood, the bonding of mother, the women with the waters, the abundance of the feeling of love and care in women, the abundance of their love and care for Nature and the abundance in Mother Nature itself.

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3 thoughts on “Varalakshmi Vrata”

Varalakshmi Vratham was first performed by Goddess Parvathi. She prayed to Goddess Lakshmi – Ichcha Shakthi, also Lord Shiva’s sister – to attain Lord Shiva. So the reference is to fulfilling the desires of a woman. As is rightly said above, a woman always has desires for the family and not just the self.

Bharath Gyan is conceptualized by D. K. Hari and D. K. Hema Hari with the objective to scientifically collate and disseminate the knowledge of India and its ties with other civilizations from ancient to modern times